Rotary internal-combustion engine.



G. R. INSHAW.

MBUST ION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29. 1911,-

ROTARY INIERNAL CO PatentedJune 8, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET l.

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ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTlON ENGINE.

- APPLICATION FILED DEC-29, 1911- Patented June 8, 1915.

ATTORNEF$ G. R. INSHAW. ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0:029, 1911.

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ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.223.1911.

Patented June 8, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4- INVENT R Patented June 8, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- APPLICATION FILED D EC.29. 1911.

G. R. INSHAW. ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

INVENTOR 6 M 4 ATTOIWYEVs Gnome aroma]; rnsHAvm-or UDDINGSTON, SCOTLAND.

ROTARY INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1915.

Application filed December 29, 1911. Serial No. 668,576.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE RICHARD IN- SHAW,a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at TheGrange, Uddingston, in the county of Lanark, Scotland, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Internal-CombustionEngines, of which the following is a speeds are situated within a closedrotatable annular chamber, one set of two vanes being secured to, orformed in one with the drum,

or casing, forming the said chamber, and the vanes of the other set oftwo vanes being carried by asleeve, or boss, on.a shaft passing throughthe said chamber, upon which shaft the chamber is rotatably mounted. Inthis type of rotary engine when the engine is running in one direction,one set of vanes always act as abutment vanes and the other set alwaysact aspiston vanes, and while the drum, or casing, rotates at a constantspeed the shaft rotates at a variable speed, the differing speeds of thetwo sets of vanes being brought about by means of cranks. It has beenproposed in rotary steam engines to employ two sets of single vanes, onesecured to a shaft and one secured to a sleeve on the said shaft, andthe relative speeds of rotation of these vanes have been so controlledby elliptical. eccentrically mounted toothed wheels situated outside theannular chamber that they each alternately act as 7 piston and abutmentvanes, the drum, or

revolution of the driven shaft and by the revolution of the respectivesets of vanes at differing speeds, they approach and recede from eachother in such manner that at each explosion in one space between thevanes, explosive mixture is drawn into another space compressed inanother space and exhausted in another space simultaneously. If desiredI may employ two sets of-more than two vanes in which more than twocomplete cycles of operations would be obtained at each revolution ofthe driven shaft.

Toothed wheels-eccentrically mounted are employed for transmittingrotary motion between the driven shaft 'of the engine and the drum, orcasing, constituting the annular chamber and between the said drivenshaft and the shaft passing through the said chamber so that the drivenshaft receives an impulse both from the drum, or casing, constitutingthe annular chamber and from the shaft passing through the said chamberalternatelyQonce in each rotation of the driven shaft, which rotates atuniform speed, the said toothed wheels also causing each of thevane-carrying members to move alternately at a. quicker and a slowerspeed than the driven shaft.

I will describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a rotaryinternal combustion engine of the four cycle type constructed inaccordance with my invention.

Figure 1 is a transverse section and Fig. 2 is a section. taken on theline A, B, Fig. 1,

showing an annular chamber provided with vanes formed in one therewith,or secured thereto, and rotatably mounted on, a shaft having vanes on asleeve,- or boss, secured thereto. Fig. 3 is a section on the line C, D,Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end view of the vanes shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is alongitudinal elevation of the engine, partly in section, Fig. 6 is anendelev'ation partly in section on the line E, F, Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 isan end View showing means for rotating the driven shaft at a uniform, orapproximately uniform. speed, and for controlling the necessary relativemovements of the vanes.

An annular chamber 1 is constituted bv a drum 2 closed at its ends bycovers 3 and 4, and is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 5 by providing asleeve 6 on the cover 3, through which the shaft 5 passes, and a recessin a boss 7 on the cover 4 to receive the inner end of the said shaft 5.

The cover 4: is provided with a hollow trunnion 8, which trunnion andthe sleeve 6 tact with the inner wall of the annular chamber 1. In thecover 4 are inlet ports 15 and exhaust ports 16 communicating with thechamber 1, and with inlet and exhaust passages 17 and 18 respectively,and these ports 15 and 16 are controlled by valves: 19 and 20respectively, operated by any suitable mechanism which may, forinstance, be carried on the outer side of the cover 4 as shown and beactuated at the required times by cams 21 and 22 formed on a sleeve 23on the hollow trunnion 8 and rotated at speeds different from the speedof the drum 2. The inlet and exhaust ports 15 and 16 are arranged inpairs preferably as shown adjacent to each side of the vanes 12 of theannular chamber 1. The inlet and exhaust passages 17 and 18 respectivelymay communicate with passages in nonrotating parts of the engine in anyconvenient manner. The vanes 12 of the annular chamber 1, and the vanes14 on the sleeve, or boss, 13, carried by the shaft 5 upon which theannular chamber rotates, act alternately as piston vanes and constituteabutment vanes, and the driven shaft 24 of the engine .is driven bygearing both from the drum 2 and from the shaft 5, this gearing alsocontrolling the movement of the vanes. The said driving and control areshown as being effected by eccentrically mounted toothed wheels whichare arranged as follows: To the driven shaft 24 of the engine aresecured two toothed wheels 25 and 26 eccentrically mounted in such amanner that their longest radii are diametrically opposite each other,or approximately so. These toothed wheels 25 and 26 engage respectivelywith a toothed wheel 27 eccentrically mounted on the sleeve 6 on thecover 3 of the drum 2 and a toothed wheel 28 eccentrically mounted onthe shaft 5 on which the said drum rotates. When either of the two parts(the drum 2 and its vanes, or the shaft 5 and its vanes,) is acting asthe driver, the minor part of the toothed wheel secured thereto is inengagement with the major part of its engaged toothed wheel secured tothe driven shaft 24, and a vane of the other of the said two parts actsas an abutment, the major part of the toothed wheel in connectiontherewith, being in engagement with the minor part of its co-actingtoothed wheel secured to the said driven shaft 24, the ratio of therespective toothed wheels being such that the said shaft 24 is alwaysdriven at an approximately uniform speed.

When a charge of combustible mixture has been admitted to between twoco-acting vanes 12, 14, and has been compressed and is about to beignited, presuming the piston vane for the impending stroke is on thedrum 2, then, by the ignitienof the charge and its consequent actionupon the abutment vane 14 on the sleeve, or boss, 13 and the piston vane12 on the drum 2, the said drum will be rotated and its motiontransmitted to the driven shaft 24 by the toothed wheel 27 secured tothe sleeve Son the cover 3 of the drum 2, and the corresponding toothedwheel 25 secured to the said driven shaft 24, the opposite side of thepiston vane 12 at this time compressing a charge which has been admittedbetween this said side and the vane 14 on the sleeve, or boss, 13, whilesimultaneously therewith the vane 12, diametrically opposite to theaforesaid piston vane, acts to draw in a charge between it and the vane14 on the sleeve, or boss, 13 and the exhaust gases (due to the previousignition) are expelled between it and the vane 14, diametricallyopposite to the before mentioned vane on the sleeve, or boss, 13. Therotary movement of the drum 2 causes the piston vane 12 thereon tocompress the mixture between it and the vane 14 on the sleeve, or boss,13, as before mentioned, and

the parts are now in position for the compressed charge to be ignited,when the vane 14 on the sleeve, or boss, 13 becomes the piston vane,while the vane 12 on the drum 2 becomes the abutment vane, so thatfurther rotation is imparted to the driven shaft 24 from the shaft 5,and so on during the action of the engine.

Each of the respective pairs of inlet and exhaust valves 19 and 20 arecaused to be opened in opposition to a spring 29 by a three-armed lever30 pivoted to a bracket 31 carried by the cover 4 of the drum'2. Twoarms of the said lever 30 bear upon the stems of the said -valves sothat, when the said lever is turned on its pivot in either direc tion,one of the stems is pushed inward and the valve opened. Each three-armedlever 30 is operated by a piece 32 slidable in a bracket 33 secured tothe cover 4, the said slidable piece 32 having on its inner end anantifriction roller 34, which is held in contact with its cam 21, or 22,by a spring 35. The cams 21 and 22 are formed in one with thesleeve 36,to which rotary motion, atthe required speed, is transmitted from thedrum 2 in the following manner :-To the hollow trunnion S of the cover 4is secured a toothed-wheel 37 which engages with a toothed wheel-38rotatably mounted on a ta l -aw stud 89. Formed in one with the toothedwheel 38 is another toothed wheel 40, which engages with a toothed wheel41 secured to the sleeve 36 of the cams 21 and 22. The diameters ofthese toothed wheels are so proportioned that the cams 21 and 22 arecaused to'rotate at half the speed of the drum 2, so that the valves areoperated to permit of. the four cycle operation of the engine.

In the arrangement described, the surplus velocityof the vane-carryingmember rotating at a decreasing speed Wlll be utilized to increase thespeed of the other vane-carrying member, sothat when the speed of onevanecarrying member is increasing, the speed of the other vane-carryingmember is decreasing, and although the vane-carrying members rotateatyvarying speeds, a compensating, or'balancing,"effect' is obtained onthe driven shaft by reason of. the throwsv of the toothed wheels beingdiametrically opposite each other, and the engine can be operated atvery high speeds.

Any convenient means may be employedto eject the ignition of theexplosive mixture at the proper time. I have shown in the drawingssparking plugs 42 for effecting this, but if desired the engine can bemade self-igniting after the initial ignition. This can be effectedby'providing valve-controlled passages through the vanes by means ofwhich ignited gas in one compartment of the annular chamber will, at theproper times, cause the ignition of the compressed mixture in the nextcompartment of the said chamher, or suflicient heat from the alreadyignited charge maybe conducted through the wall of the vane to ignitethe fully compressed mixture in the succeeding compartment of thechamber. 1

Fluid-tight joints in the annular chamber 1 may be made in anyconvenient'way, but

2, 3 and .4. In recesses formed in the ends of the vanes 12 are packingpieces 43 which are held in frictional contact with-the sleeve, or boss,13 by means of blade springs 44 interposed between the said pieces 43and the 'vanes 12. The vanes 14 are provided with four approximatelyL-shaped-packing pieces 45,'adapted to slidein grooves formed in thesides and peripheral faces of the said vanes. The said packing pieces 45are caused to move radially outward by C-springs 46, so that they areheldin frictional contact with the inner circumferential wall of theannular chamber 1 and they are acted upon in a direction transverse ofthe said chamber by coiled springs 47 passing through holes formed inthe said vanes 14 so that the said. packing pieces are held infrictional contact with the side walls, or covers, 3 and 4 of theannular chamber. The parts of juncture of the several pieces 45 witheachother are PPQ T Shown at 48, to allow of move- -ment of the saidparts without leakage of instead of toothed wheels gearing with each.

other, chains can be usedfor coupling the wheels which effect thedriving and control, or a train of toothed wheels may be used forgearing the vane-carrying members with the driven shaft of the engine.By the use of a train of Wheels, a greater variation of speed of thevane-carrying members will be permissible, while the .speed of thedriven shaft remains uniform.

' It will be understood that the engine can be constructed not only withtwo vanes; in each set as described and illustrated, but also with anysuitable number of vanes more than two in each set, and therefore wherein the following claims I mention two vanes ,I do not exclude the use ofmore than two in each set.

I claim as my invention -1. A rotary internal combustion engine havingan annular chamber with sets of inlet and exhaust ports and ignitionmeans, and two sets of constantly rotating vanes with two vanes in eachset, in combination with two concentric rotatable members operating inconjunction with said vanes, one of which members is the annularchamber, ashaft and means for transmitting the motions of the sets ofvanes to said shaft.

2. In a rotary internal combustion engine of'the type referred to, thecombination of an annular chamber with sets of inlet and exhaust portsand ignition means, two sets of vanes with two vanes in each set, theannular chamber carrying one set, a shaft upon which the annular chamberrotates and which carries the other set of vanes, and means whereby thesaid chamber and shaft with their vanesare caused to rotate in the samedirection at varying speeds, and each vane is caused to act alternatelyas a piston vane and as an abutment vane, and the conjoint varyingmotions of the said chamber and shaft are transmitted to impart uniformmotion to a driven rotatable body.

3. A rotary internal combustion engine of the type referred to, havingan annular chamber with sets of inlet and exhaust ports and ignitionmeans, a shaft on which the annular chamber rotates, the said shaft and.chamber each carrying two vanes, a toothed speeds of the rotary membersand their sets of vanes will be such that at each explosion in one spacebetween the vanes explosive mixture is drawn into another space,compressed in another space, and exhausted from another space,simultaneously and also transmit uniform motion to the driven shaft,substantially as hereinbefore ex plained.

4:. In a rotary internal combustion engine of the type referred to,- thecombination of an annular chamber provided with two vanes andvalve-controlled inlet and outlet ports, and ignition means, a shaftupon which the annular chamber rotates concentrically, two vanes carriedby said shaft, an eccentrically mounted toothed wheel on the exterior ofthe annular chamber, and an eccentrically mounted toothed wheel on theshaft upon which the said annular chamber rotates, a driven shaft, twoeccentrically mounted toothed wheels geared respectively to the toothedWheels of said first mentioned shaft and chamber, substantially as andfor the purposes described.

5. A rotary internal combustion engine comprising a rotary annularchamber and internal vanes rotating therewith, an independent rotorwithin said chamber and cooperating vanes thereon, said chamber androtor rotating constantly during the operation of the engine atconstantly varying speeds, means for admitting an explosive mixturebetween adjacent vanes at one point in their revolution, means forexploding said mixture at another point and means for ex hausting theexploded gases at another point, for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GILBERT FLETCHER TYoM, WILLIAM GERALD REYNOLDS.

